Stained Red
by Kotahsouras
Summary: When Batman accidentally kills the leader or a vicious gang circle, it drives the leaders lover Konnie insane. She takes on the persona of the girl Little Red... And Red WILL get her revenge.
1. The Beginning

It was like a dream as they pulled Konnie into the lifeboat, their hands warm and re-assuring. The world was floaty and numb, un-realistic, serene.

"Miss, are you okay?" A female voice was behind the blinding beam of a flashlight, which was pointed at her face. The lifeboat rocked on the bumpy black waves beneath them, and Konnie was vaguely aware of another pair of hands putting a towel over her shoulders, which she could not feel.

"Why is she smiling like that?" A male voice worried, and a sillouette bent into the flash light beam. "God, she doesn't look very old! Hey, kid... Can you hear us? What's your name?"

Konnie just continued to smile, body numb in the freezing air. She felt great, serene, safe. Ron was safe; she was safe. The medics had rescued her, so they where probably going to rescue Ron too. Everything was going to be okay.

"She's unresponsive, Jim." The female voice informed into a walkie talkie as the lifeboat bumped gently into the dock, and Konnie was lifted from it onto steady wood once again.

As soon as her feet touched the deck she was being pulled, pulled by many hands further away from the water. She stumbled with them, floating in air it seemed.

Everything was so peaceful.

So dreamy.

Her eyes wandered along the wooden planks, and stopped at a crumpled heap, dripping water and blood, laying on the ground.

It was like reality slapped Konnie in the face. Sound came rushing into her ears so loudly it was painful. The voices of urgent conversations, sirens blaring, cell phones ringing. Suddenly the numb feeling vanished, and her lungs ached and pleaded for air. She gulped in a large breath. The air was so cold she wished again for numbness. Everywhere the water had touched her, tiny lacerating beads popped int he air, tingling and stinging and cutting. Her smile dropped and tears sprung in it's place.

"Ron...?"

Unresponsive. Still. Lifeless.

Dead.

She found her feet come back to ground, and propel her to him.

Her fingers immediatly went to his face. His hair was drenched, and dripped down onto the planks. "RON!"

They dragged Konnie away from the body forcefully; she thrashed against them with every fiber of her being. "RON!" another scream ripped through her now raw throat, and she shook her dripping wet hair. Splatters of water hit the wooden planks of the dock in reaction to this.

How could she have let him crash the car into that Lake? Wait… she DIDN'T. Someone had rigged the car… SOMEONE had KILLED Ron.

She finally yanked her arms free of the police officer's hands, and threw herself over his cold body protectively. "Stay BACK!" she hissed at the officers, who had a body bag. The black material glimmered menacingly int he moonlight. She turned to his blank, open eyes. They where deep green… not like the dark, black waters that had killed him. "Ron! W-Wake up! WAKE UP!" she ran her fingers through his hair, shaking and trembling. "Y-You bastard! Wake up!" she cursed at him out of anger. How could he leave her like that?

Ron had been one of the biggest drug dealers in Gotham City—his trades with cocaine had spread to clients in China. He was a noturious mafia member. The handsome, black haired and emerald eyed man had rescued Konnie from slave trading. He had bought her, and she had become a sidekick of sorts. Like a mafia man's wife.

A queen.

He had kept her away from business for safety reasons. So that she would not get hurt by a rival dealer, or anyone else. But he said that a man dressed like a bat was ruining business, putting all of his clients in jail. Today he had told all of his gang members to get in their cars and drive to Louisiana… that the 'Batman' was on their trail. He scooped hr up and they went on a run.

However, as they had been driving something large and black had crashed into the windshield. A man in a cape. Ron had freaked out and swerved off the road…

Letting go of him, Konnie VERY slowly stood, her eyes never leaving his open ones. Her loves lay there, cold and lifeless… because of a 'Batman'.

She didn't look up as a hand touched her shoulder in a gentle way. Nothing mattered anymore. She didn't want to move, didn't want to feel.

"I didn't think that the car would swerve…" the alarmingly deep voice was odd, and as she turned, her eyes widened and her pupils dilated.

The man was there. Wearing all black, with a mask and cape he loomed over her. He obvioustly did not expect her reaction.

Her fist suddenly flew into his face, slamming into his jaw. "YOU BASTARD! HE'S DEAD!" suddenly the police's hands where around her again, confining her from hitting Batman again as he rubbed his jaw, not seeming very affected. This only angered her more. She wanted to cause him pain. Fury blinded her eyes, and all she wanted was to make him BLEED.

She thrashed against them, trying desperately to cause pain to Batman… but then all of her will to live, all of her adrenaline vanished, leaving her alone to sink to her knees at Ron's body to cry.

A deadly quiet, snakelike voice rattled in her mind, *Don't worry, you WILL get your revenge.*

Batman was looking at her with eyes clouded with emotion she didn't believe.

Guilt.


	2. The Creation

As Konnie stumbled into the penthouse that she and Ron used to share, her head spun and blood seeped from a deep cut across her chin.

The ambulance had tried to force her to go to the hospital, but she had refused. When they had tried to make her go by force, she picked up a scalpel and attempted to fight them off. When that 'Batman' character realized what was happening, he began to push through them to get to her, and she used that suspended moment of chaos to escape.

She could still hear the sirens wailing for her. They where on their way, the police cars, to aprehend her.

So, she had trudged, trembling, across Gotham in the middle of the night. She was shocked, disbelief and trauma getting the best of her half the way… but the other half… anger began to burn inside of her.

Had this really happened? It all seemed so surreal.

Ron couldn't be... dead?

The idea of revenge was creeping into her soul like a poison, dripping into her bloodstream and very, very slowly seeping into her heart.

The penthouse was a luxurious building with marble flooring, three stories and an inside pool. However, it was only composed of three rooms. There was the bottom room, where the door was. The bottom room had a pool table, pinball machines, a poker table, and a flat screen TV that took up almost an entire wall. The second story, or the second room, had wood flooring and an indoor pool. Then there was the bedroom, which took up the entire third story floor. Then from the bedroom was an elevator that took you to an underground garage that lead up to the main street.

She wobbled into the bottom room, and still revenge was on her mind. She couldn't shake the horrible, sickening lurches that her stomach felt with every step, or the little voice int he back of her mind urging her to act out of anger.

Konnie found herself darted up the red carpeted spiral staircase, using the railing to propel her faster up them.

She flew right past the indoor pool, her head spinning so fast that everything passed in a daze. Then, she finally arrived in the bedroom.

Only after she had closed the door behind her and slid down the wall did she begin to cry her eyes out.

Sobs wracked her body repeatedly, making her shake as warm tears streaked her face. They fell for what seemed like hours.

Not that time really mattered anymore.

Time was non-existent as she lay crumpled against the white door, her heart weeping through her fierce golden eyes.

Finally time stopped, and the nasty voice returned. *What are you doing, crying? Don't you have better things to do?*

There was a silence as Konnie wondered if she had actually heard the voice.

"Like what?" she asked the small, subconscious voice in her own shaky one.

*Like REVENGE, stupid girl!* It snapped back at her, and she flinched.

Revenge...

She abruptly stood, sniffed, and strode to the bathroom. The only sound was her own footsteps, heavy across the plush carpet.

There was a big mirror hanging from the wall, and she stared into it numbly. Her reflection was ghostly, like a broken image of her old self.

In the mirror, her ivory white skin clashed in contrast against her jet black hair, and deep, fiercely golden eyes peeked out from behind her bangs. Her hair was tangled and sopping wet, still dripping onto her already wet t-shirt.

"Konnie…. What have you gotten yourself into?" she asked herself, surveying her bloody, dripping wet clothes, and the thin, bleeding scarlet line on her chin. It was true, she was only 18… but Ron had been only 19.

However, Konnie had always looked too young for her real age. At fourteen, she still looked ten. Even now, at eighteen, she only appeared fourteen or mostly blamed this on her dimples, which Ron had always loved so much, and her short stature.

That snake like voice in the back of her mind still hissed.

*You are weak, insignificant!*

Konnie watched as tears filled in her reflections eyes, and found no strength to wipe them away.

Everything suddenly began to hit her with full force.

Ron was dead as dust. He would never be back.

A horrible hollow feeling riddled its way inside of her, clawing at her insides painfully.

She could have helped him. She could have saved him.

But she didn't.

And now Ron was dead.

She screeched, throwing her fist against the mirror. It cracked, but did not shatter, now showing a showed a deformed, ugly reflection of herself. Pushing away harshly from the mirror, she with teary eyes picked glass from her palm, and stumbled back into the bedroom.

"R-Ron..." Her voice was hoarse and dead. "Come back..."

Her eyes froze on a small, square book resting on the dresser. Very, very slowly she walked to it, and picked up the shadowed object. It was light, and she turned it over several times before allowing herself to process what it was.

A copy of 'Little Red Riding Hood'…

She had found it on the street and gave it to Ron as a joke, saying that she would read it to make him stop snoring… they had both laughed so hard.

*HE TOOK THAT AWAY!*

The thought of Batman touching her shoulder flashed through Konnie's mind, and she threw the book to the floor in disgust.

The moment that you loose your mind is not at all like most people say. It is not scary, or confusing. Suddenly, you see things DIFFERENT. The world takes on a different color spectrum, like your eyes and ears and nose have suddenly been sharpened you are much more aware of everything. People are no longer just innocent citizens when you are insane. They are all potential madmen that are just waiting to pounce on you and rip out your heart.

Konnie felt stronger, like adrenaline had been injected into her bloodstream. That adrenaline mixed in with the revenge that lingered there, then the combination pumped into her heart.

She moved again to the mirror, peering once more at the disfigured face in the fragments of smashed glass. A small smile traced her lips as she ran her fingers across the glass.

When her fingers pulled away she saw blood on their tips from the cracks, glistening red and running down her ivory skin.

In the reflection, her smile peeled open and crept across her cheeks, turning into a malicious grin.

"Konnie…" a quiet version of Ron's voice came from inside her head.

She froze for a moment, searching for the sadness and paint hat would follow his voice.

None came.

A fascinated gleam shone in her eyes as she whispered, "No, not Konnie..."

The voice disappeared, and she let an empty, disturbed giggle burst from her lips before turning to the closet and stepping inside.

She traveled to the very back of the smothering clothes, and grabbed a dress on a hook, a pair of white gloves, and red heels with white bows on their toes.

Then she turned off the lights, and slammed the door behind her.

As she emerged, Konnie admired her broken reflection. Her dress was red with black polka dots, and swished at her knees. She had heart the term for the style of dress before, ont he internet...

Lolita?

Yes, Lolita.

A small white apron like thing tied to her waist, and her delicate hands where shielded by white silk gloves with lace on them. On her feet was red heels with white bows on the toes, and as she twirled, giggling with herself, their heels clicked on the bathroom floor tiles.

Now she looked at the child in the mirror that stared back at her.

The girl had her ivory skin and dark hair. The girl wore a red dress with black polka dots, and a white apron with a bow tied to her waist.

Only one thing left.

Konnie turned around and grabbed a hood that matched the dress, tying it around her shoulders and letting it slip over her head.

...

Perfect.

Her bangs masked her golden eyes, and she removed the hood long enough to yank a brush through her thick black hair, letting the soft mass fall back down to around her knees.

"Lets play." She giggled in that high voice of hers, then turned. She was going to meet with Ron's gang… and she intended to get some business done.

No, not Konnie...

There wasn't a Konnie anymore.

She couldn't remember now wether there had ever really been a Konnie, or if it had been imagined. Nothing made sense, and everything swirled around in her head without organization. All she remembered was revenge, and her new name.

Little Red.


	3. The Crime

As Little Red drove down the street in a sleek, red Lamborghini that belonged to Ron, she knew that she was nearing the warehouse where Ron's gang resided.

The shrill wails of the sirens patrolling for her no longer frightened Red, but now sent an exhilorating thrill across her skin.

The warehouse was big, and in the rundown side of Gotham. The doorway was supposedly boarded up, but she knew that the boards where actually a door. It would be all too easy to get inside.

The biggest obstical would be what awaited her there.

She slammed her foot down harshly on the breaks, the tires squealing in protest against the slick pavement as she did. She pushed her door open, reaching under the seat and grabbing a machine gun.

As she closed the door she cursed under her breath at the pouring rain, then slipped her hood over her head before practically running to the hidden entrance.

She gripped the farthest board and yanked.

HARD.

It sprang loose, opening to reveal that it was not really boarded. Then, inhaling deeply, she waltzed further into the warehouse.

She was met with a dozen pairs of narrowed eyes, all of gang members.

"Hello!" she cheered, the gun hidden in her apron like skirt. "Don't you just hate the rain?"

Several of the men stood, but the others stopped them from taking action.

As she shrugged off the hood, several of Ronnie's close friends recognized her and stood, taking their hats off in respect.

"That's Ronnie's girl! Hurt her and he'll kill ya!" One of them warned a gruff looking man, who immediatly mimicked the others in removing his mafia style hat.

Then the man who helped her turned back. "What are you doing here?"

"Easy-peasy! I'm here to tell you that Batman killed Ron."

There was a long silence in which every man int he room froze with disbeilief.

Then chaos erupted.

Some of them said things like 'We gotta kill the Bat!' ...

Then they all began to say, 'I'm gonna take ovah the gang!'

"So sorry boys, but I am afraid not." she giggled eerily. "As his girl, I think that I should inherit the right to be in charge. Any questions?"

At this all of the men pulled out blades and brass knuckles, standing.

A tall man with a scar had a wicked grin on his face. "Listen, Toots. " He stepped towards her, the others hanging back. "Now that Ronnie ain't Boss anymore, I don't gotta protect you no more!" He stepped to her again. "And MAYBE I might even have a little fun with you."

Red's pupils dilated. She knew that look. It was the hungry look men had when they had you trapped and needed more. Always needed more...

They have that hungry gleam in their eyes as they reach out at you…

Without thinking, Red pulled the Machine gun from her apron, pulling the trigger at the man. He fell to the ground with a thud and blood splattered across the paved floor, pooling around him.

She watched with a blank expression as the blood reached her shoes. Then she smiled sweetly to the others, giggling eerily. "Whoopsie. As I was saying any other questions?" she pointed the gun at each and every one of them.

The men stumbled back and some sat back down, as if processing the situation.

"Konnie-" One of Ronnie's closest buddies began, but Red pulled the trigger again, and he slumped out of his seat and fell to the floor.

"EHH! WRONG QUESTION! My name is Little Red." her tone went dark. "Any. Other. Questions?"

This time they were completely silent, none of them making a move to interject or protest.

"Good! Now, first order of business… ship out EVERY package of drug we have TONIGHT! Batman is on our trail, and he WILL NOT find anything worthwhile. Comprendo?"

They all nodded silently, and she giggled. "Good. And if any of you try to pull anything FUNNY..." She let them wait for the answer. "Well, let's just say that Ronnie may or may not have been keeping tabs on your families. Do any of you really want to find out?"

Silence.

"I thought so."


	4. The Robbery

Little Red hummed lightly as she held up her gun, and fired into the ceiling of the bank.

As soon as the piercing BOOM of the bullet exploded into the still air, citizens began to scream and drop to the ground.

Then the room was filled with silence as all eyes went to the girl in a red hood and dress, holding up a firearm. "Gooood morning!" she cheered to the cowering people, but they remained silent out of fear.

"...Okay.. I came this morning to do two things: One, I need to get Mr. Batman's attention! Two… Well… Okay, I lied,t here was no two." a mischevious grin stretched across her face, and she giggled at her own antics.

After looking around loftily for a moment, her eyes lit up and she giggled. "Oh, come on, no one's going to say anything?" she sighed. "Then I have to PICK someone. Man, you people are NO fun!" Then Red looked around, and the tension int he room was enarly sensible.

Using a small gloved hand, Red snatched the hair of a little boy who was holding a Batman action figure. He squeaked, and his Mother cried out in distress.

"What's this?" she asked, and when the boys mother tried to stop her Red used her heel to kick the mothers stomach.

The little boy looked with wide green eyes at his Mommy, then stuttered. "B-B-B-Batman."

"Ohhh…, I see. Can I see Batman?" she asked sweetly, holding out her hand. Her smile was sweet and caring, but her eyes glinted maliciously.

The little boy handed it to her timidly, shaking, and she surveyed it for a brief moment before throwing it to the ground. "Here. I've got a new toy for you." She crushed Batman's head with her heel, and reached into her apron, pulling out a small ragdoll with black yarn hair, wearing a red hood with golden button eyes just like her.

The little boy took it hesitantly, poking its button eyes slightly. "I don't like dolls."

Dissapointed, Red sighed and cocked the gun, pointing it at the boy's head. "Do you like bullet wounds? Because I like to GIVE them."

Tears spilled down the little boys face and his mother shrieked as Red leaned down and kissed the top of his head. "Night, cutie."

"Batman..."

"What?" Red stood and turned around at the little boy's whisper, eyes following his to the front of the bank.

She looked up just in time to see a massive black figure throwing themselves at the glass window and crashing through, glass flying in every direction.

Red 'Tsk-Tsked' in disapproval. "There IS a door you know."

Batman growled at her, eyes analyzing his new target.

To him, she looked like a small child with a gun… but how was she familiar? As he looked closer he saw that she was older… looking around maybe 15. She was young for being a criminal.

"Lets play a game…" she idled with the trigger of her gun. Then slowly pointed it at him. "Do you like games?"

"You seem to be a little young to be playing this type of game." Batman's deep voice startled her, even though she partially expected it this time.

"Oh, I don't think so." She giggled, squeezing the trigger just a teensy bit.

Batman scowled at her. She was too young to be throwing her life away like this. "Just put the gun down." He tried to persuade her, but she only tightened her finger on the trigger.

"You! You are a murderer!" Her voice was deadly and full of poison as she spat out the words. "He was the ONLY thing I had…"

Batman froze, his mind immediately racing back to the night before, when he had made that truck crash into the water… that nameless girl had attacked the paramedics and escaped. The police hadn't been able to find her. "I had no idea the van was going to flip into-" but he was silenced by the firing of the uzi in her hand.

Ducking under the row of bullet and grabbing the gun from her hands he hurled it across the room where she couldn't reach it.

Red screeched and shoved her heal into his stomach. He cringed slightly, but armor in his suit protected him from any real damage.

Swiftly he managed to grab her arm with one arm, then elbow her in the face with the other. Immediatly she went limp in his arms, and he sighed deeply, not feeling very much like a hero.


	5. The New Arrival

Unlike most other patients, Little Red was out cold when the guards dragged the seemingly small child into Arkham Asylum. She looked so peaceful in her sleep, her feather-duster eyelashes brushing her cheeks, and chest rising and falling in small breaths.

Her hood trailed the whole way to the ground, and the guard that wasn't holding her was trying to keep it from touching the dirty concrete.

"Huh. It isn't every day you get a kid in here." The guard that was holding her raised a brow as he looked down into Red's face.

"A kid? Well, Frank, she isn't that young! She's got to be 15!" the female guard said with a frown on her lips. "Although, she's awful young to be sent HERE... Do we even know who she is?"

Frank shook his head gruffly. "We had no name, and it looks like all of her clothes were handmade, probably by her. There was no one in the database with her fingerprints…"

The female, who was the newest guard on duty, frowned. "She must have some very nice sewing skills… maybe we can put her on sewing duty?"

Nodding, Frank opened the door with his shoulder, and light pooled in from Arkham's halls onto the nighttime concrete sidewalk. "That IS a possibility…"

"What cell block is she in?" the woman asked, her boots clanking as she strutted across the tile flooring.

"C block I think."

The woman gasped, eyes wide. "C BLOCK?" Her eyes warily traveled down to the child in Frank's arms. "Do you have any idea what she did?"

"Well, she held up a bank and tried to shoot the Batman. Then we took her gun and matched the bullets with the bullet wounds found in two dead gang member's bodies that where pulled in by fishing nets."

"So then the kids a killer." The woman said simply, feeling horrible pity for the child in Frank's arms.

Just then Red stirred, and her eyes fluttering open.

Frank, having to go with procedure, set her on her feet and immediately handcuffed her gloved hands behind her back. "Stay still, moving will only make any punishments worse."

Images of slave traders and chains flashed through Red's mind. "N-No! Let go of me!" She began to trash violently against the handcuffs, pushing away from the man and falling over her own heels, painfully crashing into the ground.

Frank and the woman, both shocked by the girl, brought her back to her feet. "Miss? We need to get you into some clothes so we can bring you in for lunch. C Block is about to go to lunch."

She continued to thrash against him, and he confined her in a tight shoulder grip. "Calm down NOW before we sedate you!"

Stopping wasn't really her thing.

"You bone headed creep!" Red screeched at the top of her lungs as he led her through the C-Block doors. Lining the wall's where plexi-glass like windows that revealed into cell after cell of people in blue hospital like jumpsuits.

Eyes snapped up to the screaming girl, many smiles flickering on several faces.

Joker looked up, his wicked smile widening, and he began to laugh hysterically. "NEW ARRIIVVAALLLL!"

At his words everyone seemed to be alert.

A man with a face that was horribly disfigured on one side was flipping a coin lazily. A woman with fiery red hair who was tending to plants looked up and raised a brow, then, in the cell next to her a bubbly looking girl with blonde pig-tails and blue eyes giggled.

Red, however, was still screaming for her life. "IF YOU DON'T LET GO OF ME I'LL MAKE SURE THAT A 'WOLF' IS NOT THE WORSTE OF YOUR FEARS! I'LL RIP OUT YOUR EYES WITH MY THUMBS AND FEED THEM TO GRANNY OVER HERE!" she gestured to the woman guard, eyes so wild the whites around her irises showed.

However they managed to push Red into a cell, locking the heavy door behind her with an awful, hollow slamming sound.

A man with the disfigured mask of a scarecrow muttered under his breath from within his cell across from Red's, amused beyond belief. "Fear of wolves: Luposlipaphobia.


	6. The Scarecrow

After they had forced her into an ugly blue jumpsuit and taken away her hood, dress, and heels (Resulting in the broken leg of one of the Arkham Guards), Red was told that she would be in charge of sewing and patching up jumpsuits.

They made her start immediately—lunch apparently did not start for another ten minutes.

Now in handcuffs, the guards rather harshly dragged Red into the downstairs basement.

The basement was a cold place with extremely bright lights that made Red squint her eyes until they adjusted. When they did, she noticed that a row of washing machines and dryers lined the farthest left wall, and in the middle of the room was a large, metal table.

Her jaw dropped, and she growled in an exasperated voice. "Really? No sewing machine?"

Frank the Guard shook his head. "Nope. Too dangerous. You could throw it at someone. Needles can only do a little damage."

*Not if they go into your eye.* She thought bitterly, shaking her head in disbelief. Then she gingerly allowed frank to undo her handcuffs, popping her wrists and flexing her fingers as they popped off.

"Remember—no funny business." Frank warned, attaching something else to Red's wrist. She curiously watched as some sort of bracelet blinked in green. "This is a shocking device. You misbehave or somehow escape, we pump electricity into you. I will be out of the door and up the stairs. If I hear ONE thing-"

"Then you can spank me." She rolled her eyes, strolling to the metal sewing table, where several thimbles and different colored threads lay, along with a red pincushion with one sewing needle. "So much to work with!" she cheered sarcastically, and Frank left, ignoring her.

She sighed, peering around the cold cement area. There where folded jumpsuits just like hers everywhere. She looked down at her own clothes… how… boring! No, no, no. This would not do!

She looked around, snatched a pair of extremely dull children scissors from under a huge pile of clothes, found another jumpsuit in her size, and began to snip away.

After about an hour of relentless work, Red stood in front of the reflective surface of a washing machine, twirling around and looking at her own reflection.

Red had to admit, her new dress looked nice. The ruffled garnet showed a bit of chest cleavage, with a poofy Lolita type skirt that ended above her knees. Then she had cut up her boring white sneakers to make cute little girls shoes.

Looking at herself in the reflection of the table, she giggled. She looked like a small porcelain doll, super cute and small, but rather eerie.

It was then that Frank dragged in the man with the bag over his head.

Frank took one look at her and scowled. "You can't do that to the clothes!"

Red rolled her eyes. "You said I had to wear the jumpsuit. I AM. It just looks a little different."

Frank growled something under his breath, and then pushed the guy beside him rather harshly.

The man was almost completely normal- except for the fact that over his head he wore a disfigured, horrifying sack that reminded her briefly of a- OH!

So he was the infamous Scarecrow that everyone was freaking out over… He had just escaped and been re-caught recently.

On the side of his mask was a rip in the rough looking fabric, from his temple the whole way down to his chin. The burlap was frayed and torn where it had been sliced.

Scarecrow looked up at the girl from beneath the mask, and his eyes widened slightly. He had been expecting the ugly, german lady who usually made lunch for them… but this was a better subsitute.

She was young looking… childish, but not a child. Her golden eyes blazed against her almost starch white skin from behind black bangs. Her hair traveled the whole way to her knees, yet it was somehow perfectly groomed. She couldn't possibly be the new arrival?

Red nodded to him, and looked at Frank as he closed the door behind himself, leaving her in the room to work once again.

Red sighed and there was a silence before she. "Oh, so sorry! Let me… find you a chair…" she bit her lip and looked around, wondering if there was one even there. Then she spotted the leg of a metal chair from under an impossibly large stack of dirty clothes, and with some effort the small girl pushed the clothes off of the chair before dragging it over other dirty piles to her working table. "Please, sit!"

Scarecrow nodded silently, sitting down. He was tall—like the Joker, and even though it was a reasonably sized chair his knees where almost to his chest. "I-" he began to talk, but she interrupted him.

"Geez!" her high, child-like voice sounded amazed for areason Scarecrow could not fathom.

"Did your mask get attacked by a wild razor blade?"

Scarecrow chuckled, hoping she would let him speak. "More like a wild flying piece of glass." He couldn't help but grin at her expression at those words. "Just for future reference, if you are taking care of Joker, don't tell him his jokes aren't funny."

"Taking care?"

"Well, yeah. You seem to be the newest nurse-"

She interrupted him again. "No, no, no, no, NO." she tsk-ed at him. "Not even close. You didn't see me earlier?"

Scarecrow raised a brow. "What did you do?" he asked skeptically. She didn't look capable of killing a fly, let alone commit a crime that could land her in Arkham.

"Well…" she began counting off things on her fingers, and as she spoke his eyes widened in disbelief. "I killed two gang members, held 13 hostages at the Gotham Bank, tried to kill some brat…" she bit her lip, deep in thought. "OH YEAH! Then I tried to blow Batman to bits." She smiled sweetly again, and suddenly her smile didn't seem so friendly.

Scarecrow eyed her as she picked up an incredibly sharp looking needle from the table. "YOU killed two people?"

"Two idiots." She frowned at him. "And that shouldn't be so hard to believe. I AM here, aren't I? And everyone here is insane-"

The man very suddenly stood from his chair, looming over Red. "I am NOT insane!" he bellowed, and Red shot a nervous glance at the door… apperantly Frank hadn't heard. Great.

"I am the Master of Fright! I am the feeling that fills your nightmares, the raw FEAR that grips the marrow of your bones." He was very close to her face. "Understood?"

Gulping slightly, Red nodded. "Uh-huh."

There was a long silence, and Red brushed off her surprise within moments.

With a slightly shrug, she casually muttered, "So then, 'Completely sane person'." When he shot her a look she stuck out her tongue, once again reminding him of a little girl. "What color thread do you want? I have red, black, white, green, yellow…"

"Just black." He sighed, easing into his chair.

Nodding, she slipped a thimble onto her index finger and threaded the black yarn into the needle. "Black then…" she began at the top of the tare in his mask, being careful not to stab his eye out or something.

After a moment of working, she began to sing under her breath. Her voice wasn't beautiful or anything particularly special, but it was steady and pleasant to listen to.

At first Scarecrow thought she was singing Row, Row, Row your boat… but as he listened closely a smile formed on his lips. How delightfully… scary.

She sang, "…Stab, stab, stab the boy. Slowly he shall die! Bleed him like an ugly pig and show him his insides!" then she giggled eerily at herself. "…Stab, stab, stab the boy. Slowly he shall die! Cut him up and bleed him out and then laugh as he cries!"

As she finished, she tightened the thread so that the hole suddenly came together, and then she tied a knot and cut the string.

Surveying her work, she stopped singing and giggled. "All done, Mr. Scarecrow!"

He stood up, and she pointed to the reflective surface of the table. "Sorry… they won't let me have a mirror—because of the glass, you know. But the table works just as well."

Scarecrow bent over the table and looked at his mask, surveying her needlework with slight awe. "Thanks." He muttered, then realized. "Did you MAKE that dress?"

She giggled, nodding. "Yep! Out of those ugly old jumpsuits!"

He admired the work (Or her, it was hard to tell), then looked over as Frank noisily bustled into the room.

"Come on." The man practically commanded, and Scarecrow stalked over. Frank looked at his mask, then raised his brow, impressed. "Good work on the mask—but I need to ask Mr. Arkham about what you did to the jumpsuits."

Red nodded, turning back to the table to get ready to work again.

"Well, don't go back over there! Come on!" Frank barked impatiently, waving. "It's lunch time."


	7. The Meal

Red was most literally thrown into the cafeteria way too harshly. Scarecrow landed on his feet, but Little Red tripped over her white shoes and braced herself to fall to the ground.

She was surprised that a hand grabbed her dress collar and was able to set her on her feet before she smacked her face on the tile. Opening her eyes, she gave a thankful look to Scarecrow, who was standing above her with that scary mask of his, removing his hand from her collar. "Thanks." She whispered, voice a little shaky.

"No problem. Fear of falling: Bathaphobia." He said simply, and placed a hand on her shoulder—however, she shied away from his touch. He raised a brow, but did not question her. He should look into that… perhaps a fear of touch? Or was it more?

Red shook her head slightly, before cooperating and peering around, only to be shocked to see that EVERY eye in the cold room was on her. It made her slightly self conscious, but she stayed calm and brave.

Joker looked at Red and wriggled his eyebrows comically, and Harley Quinn, a girl with blonde pigtails and blue eyes, growled at him. He saw this and immediately stopped; probably afraid she would club him over the head or something.

Beside Harley was a red headed, extremely beautiful woman with elfin like features that Red recognized as Poison Ivy. Poison Ivy eyed her skeptically.

On a separate table, there was a man with blonde hair and a top-hat who was poking something that might have once been edible on his plate. Next to him was a man who looked extremely quizzical, a single eyebrow raised and mouth turned up into a smirk —Riddler, no doubt. Riddler looked up and raised a brow questioningly at Scarecrow.

Scarecrow made his way to the table with Riddler and the other man that Red had not seen before. Red stood there, not sure wether to follow, when Scarecrow stopped and looked back. "Are you coming?" he asked, and she shrugged then sighed, following him.

As she approached, the man with the top hat looked up and his eyes brightened. "Why, with that dress you look almost exactly like Alice! Are you Alice by any chance? Riddler, my good man! She could be the Alice of our tea party!"

Riddler watched as the petite girl sat. "Sorry Hatter, but I do not think that her name is Alice." He looked at her expectingly, eyebrow raised.

"My name is Little Red."

Hatter seemed delighted to have a new arrival at the table, and Riddler seemed to be thinking. Scarecrow was looking at Riddler, and they seemed to exchange some unseen message.

"Riddle me this," Riddler began, and Red looked up, a little taken back. Odd as it was, Ron was often extremely amused by riddles… Ron. She missed him… "At night they come out without being fetched, and they disappear by day without being stolen. What are they?"

"Um…" she screwed up her face, thinking. "Well, if they are seen at night and gone by day… and there are many of them… The Stars!" Red grinned hopefully, giggling like a child.

Riddler paused for a moment, and Red's heart skipped a beat… then he smiled cockily. "Yes… the stars come out every night without someone getting them, and disappear by day without someone stealing them."

"Oh, joy! Would you like a little more tea?" Hatter asked, grinning. He reminded Red of a golden retriever puppy with such a friendly smile.

"Well… I havent had any... so I can't take MORE tea…" she raised a brow confused. She was unaware that she was going along with his quoting of Alice in Wonderland. Her cooperation delighted Hatter.

"No! You can always take more than nothing!"

Red looked like she was going to say something, but then just smiled and, for his sake, nodded in agreement.

Scarecrow sighed from behind his mask, returning from the lunch line with a tray of slop. "So then, I-"

Hatter interrupted, eyes twinkling and bottom lip jutted out slightly in a pout. "Are you SURE your name isn't Alice, dear?"

"I'm sure. it's Little Red... or, Red, if you want."

"Like Little Red Riding Hood? I'M gonna to call you Hood!" a bubbly voice with a slight accent suddenly boomed cheerily from behind her, and Red nearly jumped straight through the ceiling. As she turned, Harley Quinn was grinning broadly inches from her face.

"Hood? That's cool…" she looked behind Harley, where Joker and Ivy where picking up their lunches and walking over to their table. By their body language, Red immediately realized that Ivy and Joker must have some bad blood between each other.

Harley went right ahead and plopped down next to Scarecrow, who groaned under his breath. Joker and Ivy sat across from each other, sharing a death glare.

"Little Red Riding Hood? Ohhh!" Joker grinned, his smile stretching impossibly far up his face. "What did you do to get in, bring the wrong cookies to Granny?" he burst out into hysterical laughter at his own joke, and Harley immediatly joined in.

Red felt the urge to prove herself to Joker, frowning slightly. "I killed two gang members, punched Batman in the face, held 13 hostages at the Gotham bank, was ABOUT to shoot a little boy, then tried to blow the very Caped Crusader to bits."

The table went silent and froze, Harley's jaw dropped open and Hatter dropped his fork. Poison Ivy stared… everyone looked incredilous.

That nasty little voice in her head whispered, *They're staring...*

"Hmph..." She ignored their staring.

Joker burst into whoops and laughs, clapping his hands together grandly. "That's the funniest thing I've heard all day! HEADLINE: Small girl punches Dork Knight in face! Priceless!"

Red grinned, happy for the acceptance. Then a buzzer above them went off, and armed guards marched in. Three of the six grabbed Joker, and Red's eyes widened. That seemed kinda… over rated…

Joker laughed hysterically as they dragged him away. "Until tomorrow! Wheee!" he let them drag him off, laughing the whole way.

Then the other guards spilled in, guns and clubs drawn to escort them all to their cells.

First Scarecrow said goodbye and was locked up, then Hatter, then Riddler.

When they went to the female side of the hall Ivy quietly wished them a good night. That left Harley and Red.

Just before Harley walked into her cell she turned around to Red and grinned. "Hey, Hood! Welcome to the Mad House!"

Then Harley twirled into her cell, and the door slammed shut and locked behind her.


	8. The Break

*No matter how normal the world seems, you can never escape from the hellish cage that envelopes your mind. *

"Like a bird, it flutters in its cage." Red whispered to herself, fingers entwined in her own hair.

She sat on the hard ground of her cell, her legs folded beneath her. She never crossed her legs. It was weird to do so, in her opinion. She looked oddly creepy, staring unblinkingly forewords into nothingness. Her hair was slightly tangled, and fell to the floor, some pieces falling over her golden eyes that where open wide. However, that nasty little voice was chiming to her with no mercy, speaking in snakelike whispers that no one but her could hear.

*No matter who you speak to, you will NEVER free your mind from that cage!*

"The bars on the cage are made from fire. Fire burns." She spoke to herself, and could feel the eyes of the people in other cells on her. "Burning, burning… you know, when cars crash they burn." Her fists clenched, left eye twitching.

*Look at you! You can BARELY get a hold on reality can you?* Suddenly the voice changed, into a male's voice. Red jumped, astonished.

That was Ron's voice.

Burning, burning, Ron is burning!

Her lip quivered. "Look at me, look at me, I have no hold on reality!" a huge, maniacal smile spread across her face, but tears leaked from her eyes.

*STOP SINGING!* Ron's voice spat at her, and all of the sudden she went completely silent. Ron had never taken that tone with her… why was he mad at her now? She hadn't done anything! *You don't love me anymore!*

Suddenly she broke. The smile disappeared, and she began to shake, wrapping her arms tight around her body. "I-I-I do! I l-l-love y-y-you!" she began to stutter, rocking back and forth.

*You don't understand, idiot! I. COULDN'T. LOVE. YOU!*

The blood curdling shriek that tore from her throat seemed suddenly in her face, and Red shot up from the ground, grabbing her cot. She gripped the edges and flung it across the room with surprising strength.

The cot slammed into the dresser, and small sewing trinkets came crashing to the floor, shattering.

"SHATTER, SHATTER!" she was bellowing the words in short, hysterical gasps.

Suddenly she flung herself at the glass, smiling wildly and beating on it with her fists, using her long nails to scratch thin lines into it's surface. "CAGE! CAGE! HELLISH CAGE! NEVER ESCAPE THE HELLISH CAGE! WE ARE BROKEN! Broken… bones… SHATTER, SHATTER! THE BIRD IS ESCAPING! GRAB THE BIRD! NOW BREAK ITS NECK AND STOMP IT TO DEATH!"

The guards rushed in then, loud and harsh as one of them grabbed Red's arm, thrusting her arm forwards. A long needle was shoved into her skin, injecting something into her arm that burned like fire. Then, she felt her eyelids droop. The small girl was still chanting about the bird's fate when her vision blacked out and she collapsed.

When Red regained consciousness, the only thing she cared about was getting out of that cell. It was a cage, a hellish cage…

She shook her head to hopefully kill the small voice, but it cursed at her angrily and she stopped.

Insanity was weird, she decided, and slipped from the cot. There was no clock, but she could hear the faint noise of chattering people from down the halls. Lunch time.

Frank seemed hesitant at first to even talk to her, but then complied and led her to lunch. He still pushed her in the door, but not out of cruelty. His actions reminded her of how when you catch a wasp in a cup you pull the cup off very fast to avoid being stung.

She stumbled in, and kept her hands folded neatly over the poofy skirt of her dress. She knew very good and well that the others had heard her… incident, and where bound to talk about it.

As expected, whispers and murmurs came to a dead stop as people stopped gossiping. She felt herself blush under the false blush like circles on her cheeks, and kept her head down, walking right past Scarecrow, Riddler, and Hatters table. She hadn't eaten in two days, but ignored her rumbling stomach as she went to sit alone.

"Fear of embarrassment?" The voice that came from behind Red made her jump in her seat. She had been drifting into her own little world, and had not noticed Scarecrow approach her.

She looked at him, and he realized that she didn't look well. OFF, really. He wondered idly if there was a fear behind it. "Good morning…" she muttered. She was blushing in a look of sheer shame.

"You DO realize that we are in a lunch room, and it is no fun to be in a room with LUNCH if you are going to sit alone and not eat?" Scarecrow's voice took on its usual tone of sarcasm. This comforted Red for a reason she could not put her finger on.

"So DO join us for tea, Ma'dear!" Suddenly a pair of hands where on her shoulders, and Hatter practically had to force her to sit down at the table where Riddler sat quizzically.

Riddler thought fast, as usual. "Riddle me this: What is heard, seen, and felt, but does not exist?"

Red looked up, avoiding Harley who was whispering to Ivy. Red was sure she heard the words 'Bird' and 'Snap'.

"I don't know… " She muttered, and Hatter was displeased by her lack of animation immediately.

Riddler smiled in an extremely cocky fasion. "Oh, finally I beat you at this!" he purred. "The answer, girl, is 'SANITY'."

Red looked up, realizing what was going on. These three people, who were mentioned in newspapers for being murderers, kidnappers, and psychopaths, where trying to comfort her and get her to eat some lunch with them.

Warmth bubbled up from within her chest. She shivered slightly—her insides had been frozen since the moment that truck hit the water.

"Look guys, I really appreciate what you are trying to do… but… I'm tired." The truth was, they had heard her insanity just an hour earlier. They had HEARD her at her weakest point, where she was vulnerable and deranged… she felt… violated.

Like when she was a slave.

Hatter whimpered slightly, and then looked at Riddler and Scarecrow for help. Riddler sighed, and started to think of another way to convince her to at least eat the slop in the lunch line.

"Crane?" Riddler looked at Scarecrow, and suddenly Red felt self conscious. Was it not normal to call each other by their Villain names?

"If she doesn't want to eat with us, then fine." He spat the word, and Red could tell she had done something wrong. Hatter sank in his seat, and Riddler frowned at Scarecrow.

"I-I didn't mean to-"Red spluttered the words. Suddenly she understood what everyone meant. Scarecrow was… scary.

He loomed over her; he was so tall he was able to do this from the other side of the table. He glared at her through that mask, then, suddenly, he turned and snapped at a guard impatiently. "You! Yes, you! I want to go to my cell!"

As they carted Scarecrow out, Red sank in her seat with a heavy sense of guilt that not even Hatter's happy chatter could fix.


	9. The Escape

"Wake up, Red! WAKE UP!"

Red was snapped awake by rough fabric brushing her cheek. She opened her fiercely golden eyes sleepily to see Scarecrow looking down at her, in full costume. No… it wasn't a costume. He… he seemed to 'fit' in this attire. This was no costume. This was Scarecrow. This was Crane. Another skin, almost.

"What are you…?" she mumbled, blinking hard. Scarecrows straw hat touched her nose, making her push him away slightly. Then reality came crushing down on her. "Wait—why are you in my cell?"

Scarecrow clamped a rough, gloved hand over her mouth. "Shh! We're getting out of here!" he growled at her, and she was immediately quiet as the hay man glared at her. "Get out of bed. Here—we got your hood and dress when we raided the place. HURRY!" he threw her clothes at her, along with her heels and small blush foundation and brush.

As he left she quickly threw on her clothes, leaving the hood off, slid on her heels and ran to her not real glass mirror, yanking a brush through her hair and putting pale pink circles on her stark white cheeks. She smiled in satisfaction, still as eerie looking as ever, and darted out of her gaping cell door.

She kept the hood clutched to her side, and peered at her surroundings. It felt as though something was bundled inside of the red fabric, but she was in too much of a hurry to investigate it.

That's when the alarms went off.

Red lights began to flash, and Little Red looked up, her eyes widening. Surprisingly fast in heels, she zoomed down the hall to the exit that led to B block. Scarecrow and the others had already been there—signs of fighting where everywhere. She ignored the blood stains on the wall, and went through the doors to the B block hall. Harley Quinn was JUST slipping through the door to A Block, with a bazooka.

"Where did she get…?" Red muttered an unfinished question as she too went into A Block, hoping that that hall too was empty of guards.

Sadly, she was not that lucky.

At the VERY end of that hall was mass chaos.

Many armed guards had sedated her friends, and had them all at gunpoint. Hatter had his trembling hands in the air, Scarecrow was on the ground, Joker was laughing hysterically with his hands on his head and Harley Quinn was cowering against him. Poison Ivy was glaring at a man who had a knife on the stem of a pretty flower, threatening to cut off the flowers bud. Two-Face was glaring too, his hands pressed against a wall. Riddler was thinking, and it looked like he was trying to strategize a way out but couldn't.

Red was suddenly hyper-aware of the odd object hidden in her hood. Before they saw her, she reached in and felt around… was that a… but how? She pulled out a whistle, confused. Why was there a whistle there? On the whistle was a carving of a wolf's face.

Without knowing what it was, she pressed the wooden whistle to her lips and blew.

There was nothing. Not one sound. Just air. "Useless!" however, her anger was stopped by a howl off in the distance. She looked up. How odd… wolves weren't usually in Gotham this time of year.

"AUUUUUU!" the wolf's hollow howl came again, this time closer to the building. Several of the guards looked back, confused. Red frowned and blew again.

"Riddle me this:" Riddler began, and suddenly more than one gun was pointed to him. "What runs with the moon, eats everything red and prowls in the woods?"

The guards looked at each other, and before anyone could move suddenly the window above them shattered, and a massive black wolf with deep red eyes thundered down on the guards. It landed on a fat man's shoulders and then bit down on his head. The creature was so HUGE that it was taller than the man—HORSE sized! It spit him out easily, turning its hungry eyes to the next guard.

All of the Rouges burst into action. Joker and Harley both grabbed their weapons, Harley smirking as she pointed her bazooka into a woman's face. Joker grabbed a knife and lunged at a man. Scarecrow grabbed his fear gas grenades and threw them at a guard, who dropped like a fly, and began to scream like crazy.

Red backed away slightly as the giant beast stepped towards her, teeth now dripping ruby colored liquid. She took another step back, before the wolf lunged for her.

She screamed. This was not a human scream. No human SHOULD be able to make this scream… it was the scream of a madman, a broken, hollow sound that made everyone turn to her. The room went silent for a moment and Red opened her eyes to see the wolf bent down at her feet, head on its paws.

"Do you want me to…?" the touched its soft head, and then suddenly stepped on its forehead lightly. It was so huge she could climb over its neck and mount it, like a horse.

Throwing her head back, Red let out a creepy little girl giggle. She was… whole. Then her head snapped forewords, and she said two words. "Sick 'em."

The wolf lunged forewords, and Red clung to his fur as he leapt into the air, its jaw snapping. "Go, go, go!" she screamed to the Rouges. "I can finish them off!" she gave them a wicked smile. The innocent girl was gone. This was Red. "GO!"

They all fled, punching and kicking guards as they went into the cool night air.

Then, the wolf ever so slowly turned to the mass of armed Arkham Guards, its teeth gleaming red.

"Who's afraid of the big bad wolf?" Red whispered, mainly to herself, then the black creature jumped forewords at them and screams ripped into the air.


	10. The Betrayal

Red sighed, looking up at the huge mansion in the dark woods. How peculiar.

Once she and the others had escaped, they had traveled through these dark woods on the very north of Gotham. Apparently Dent and Joker had time to build this entire mansion like base, which led Red to believe that they had been planning this for a VERY long time.

She practically lay on the wolf's strong back, his shoulder blades rising and falling as his massive paws approached the front door. Hatter and the others all rode in a carriage that moved by a motor, but for some reason Hatter was still holding reigns like there where horses.

The mansion was long and looked like a large hotel, like a smaller version of one she had seen in a scary movie. It was complete with a huge double door. How… cliché.

"Hatter!" she called down to him, and he looked up with a huge grin. "How did you get the wolf to do this?"

Hatter seemed exuberant that she noticed his work. "Oh, simple my dear!" he looked around, suddenly sheepish. "B-but it wasn't just me. What happened was the last time Joker escaped I gave him one of my mind control devices. He went to a circus and-"

"And then I paid a visit to the wolf cage!" Joker finished, before laughing hysterically. "The wolves there are all SO charming—but I went with the big one." He flashed a malicious grin. "All I had to do was stick the card on his head and it attached itself!"

Red smiled, flattered. "And you did that all for me?"

Hatter nodded, "All for the newest Rogue, my dear." And with that the carriage and her wolf stopped. "Take the wolf inside."

Two-face was glaring at him. "She is not taking that thing inside-"

"Oh, just quit your jabbering, Bacon-face! Lighten up a little!" Joker laughed at him with a gleaming smile, and got very close to his face.

"Get out of my face, clown!"

"Which one?"

"Girls, Girls. You're both pretty." Red snapped, sick of the bickering. Both of them turned to her with glaring eyes, and she rolled her own fiercely golden pupils. Joker and Two-Face went silent.

Red pushed open the front doors and then led the wolf (Who was just barely able to fit in the door) inside the house. Inside there was royal gold carpet and arched ceilings with chandeliers hanging from them. There was a grand staircase, but she looked to the side and smiled.

There was a hallway that had red walls.

The others close behind in coming inside, Red heard Harley gasp in awe at the hotel like mansion as Red disappeared with the wolf down the hallway, smiling gently to herself.

Inside the hallway where two rooms… sort of. There was a big room for her, which was pretty plain and basic with a twin sized bed and a desk. The other room was actually a HUGE cage with all concrete walls and floors and no windows with hay spread all over the floor.

Red grinned wickedly and led the wolf into the cage, before wishing him goodnight and gently closing the cage doors behind herself. Then she went to her room and plopped down on the bed. Without even changing out of her heels or hood or dress she plopped down on the bed, letting her muscles relax.

Without realizing, sleep creeped in on her.

"Oh, come now Scarecrow! You can't just tell me that you've gone soft!" Joker's voice made Red snap out of her uneasy sleep. His voice came from outside her bedroom window. Slowly, she slid out of bed and stepped to the window, holding her breath.

"Do not insult me, Joker!" Scarecrow's vicious tone made Red jump. "You dare call me a coward?"

"Haystack, buddy, look." Joker took on a defensive tone. "If we frame the kid and give her up, the cops would be off our trail!"

Red's mind raced. 'If we frame the kid…' Her? They were going to do what?

"Why do we have to give her up? Why not your precious little Blondie?" Scarecrow snapped harshly.

"Well, my my! Scarecrows gone soft! Fallen head over heels for a child!" Joker laughed. Loud.

"No!"

"Then prove it, Crane." The seriousness in Jokers voice made Red's skin crawl. He handed Scarecrow a potato sack and a rope.

"Fine, clown."

The last words made Red fall backwards and stumble back onto her bed. They were coming to hurt her, tie her up. To turn her in.

Hatter had lied, all of them had. She was not the newest rogue. She was a fool, nothing more than a gullible child. How could she have believed that they would have accepted her?

Tears came to her eyes and she stood, her red hood billowing around her ankles. Golden eyes narrowed, she grabbed a meat clever off of the desk then left her room, going to the wolf's cage.

The wolf lay on the floor, but something was wrong. He was pawing viciously at the card attached to his ear. A low, keening whine came from deep inside of his throat.

Red quickly slid the door open and stepped inside, darted over and looked into the wolf's eyes, gold meeting red. "You might kill me if I do this." She whispered to the wolf, and it whined again. Then, closing her eyes and holding her breath she ripped the card from its ear. The wolf howled in pain and Red hurled the card to the ground, running out of the cage door as fast as possible.

The wolf brought himself to his feet, and once again looked into Red's eyes. They gazed at each other for a long moment before Red whispered with a gentle smile; "You're welcome."

Then she left the wolf in the cage and began to dart down the hall, leaving the door gaping wide open. Just as she entered the main room and made a b-line for the door she was grabbed by the hood and yanked backwards.

"You bastard! Let go of me!" she screeched, thrashing violently against whoever was holding her. She elbowed whoever it was in the stomach, and then whipped around. Joker laughed, rubbing his stomach as if she had done practically no damage at all. "Get away from me…" she muttered, taking a step back with her hands up in defense.

Then she was grabbed from behind again, a rough fabric wrapping around her wrists and restraining them.

Scarecrow… that… that TRAITOR.

Suddenly images of slaves and cages hit Red, and her eyes went wild. She thrashed against Crane, and as Joker tried to get close she kicked him in the jaw.

"You… you lunatic! You crazy man! Your mad!" she screamed the words at the top of her lungs, before she realized that Harley and Ivy where at the top of the stairs. Harley's eyes where wide, and Ivy was glaring at Joker. Did they not know what he had been planning?

Harley, tears in her eyes, ran off just as Hatter came in. Hatter gasped and watched with wide eyes. He looked utterly surprised, and Red and the man looked exchanged a terrified look before one of anger spread on Hatter's face.

It was then that Dent strolled in lazily with a gun.

He had a coin in his hand, and flipped it with a sadistic smirk. It landed with the dark, burnt side facing up. "Your unlucky." He muttered into her ear then walked forwards and pointed the guns nuzzle to Red's forehead. Scarecrow stiffened, and Joker began to laugh hysterically.

Red stopped fighting, and glared at Dent as he got closer. The guns nuzzle was now actually touching her skin. She looked up at Scarecrow, scowl marring her face. "I hope my blood splatters on you and water will never wash it away. The substance is gone but you are stained. Forever stained red. Just. Like. Me."

Scarecrow just looked down at her and she knew she had cut him deep.

Dent chuckled and tightened his finger on the trigger.

"AAAUUUUU!" a huge, black animal hurled itself at Dent, biting into his shoulder. Scarecrow jumped back and Joker was thrown against the wall.

Squirming back, Red watched as the wolf snarled and hurled Dent against the wall, licking it's teeth clean. Then, it looked at her, beady red eyes glinting.

Red used the chance and swung herself onto the huge wolfs back, having to jump a little.

"You are all traitors. And I will never forgive you. Any of you, for what you have done here." She looked directly at Scarecrow in silence for a moment, then shook her head.

Gently, she pulled her hood up over her head. "Go." She whispered to the beast below her, and the wolf lurched through the door into the night.


End file.
